About Us
The PFFBO Story
After retiring as the head of the US branch of Delta Product Corporation, Sathya Narayanan has been passionately involved in raising the financial literacy of the Portland Community. His initial focus was to educate a group of women on the fundamentals of economics and the stock exchange so that they understand the basics of finance and investing. During the last three years, this small group has multiplied into three groups, with a total of about 100 students. These students have successfully invested several thousand of dollars of their personal investments in the stock market, making good profit. While teaching is a passion of Sathya, his long term vision was to use this effort as a launching pad to create a non profit foundation to serve the large community, especially the underprivileged in the community. In January 2021, his dream came to fruition as the PFFBO foundation. While his teaching efforts continue to be pro bono, his students are helping to start funding the foundation using percentage of their profits. PFFBO has received official "non-profit status" under IRS section 501(c)(3). Tax-ID #85-3755344. At inception, PFFBO was known as Peoples Foundation for Better Oregon. However, as of July 2023, PFFBO has been changed to Peoples Foundation for Better Opportunities.
Our Mission
To promote harmony and welfare of the society by inspiring, educating, and providing financial assistance to the underprivileged to succeed in life.
Our board
Sathya Narayanan - President
Sathya moved to Portland to join Tektronix in 1978 after graduating from the University of Washington with MSEE and MBA. Sathya held various Management positions at Tektronix and later at Delta Electronics. Sathya is a founding member of Kalakendra and has been serving on its Board for the past 34 years.
Rajan Mehndiratta - Treasurer
Rajan has lived in the Portland area since 1986. He retired from Intel in May 2016, after 27 years of service. At Intel, Rajan held senior management/leadership positions across various Finance and Accounting functions. He enjoys spending time with his family, playing tennis and serving his community - engaging through various non-profit organizations.
Rajeewa (Rajiv) Arya - Secretary
Rajiv has lived in Oregon for over 15 years. He earned his Ph. D degree from Brown university and has over 30 years’ experience in Solar Photovoltaic Business spanning fundamental and applied research, manufacturing, and operating all aspects of the business.
Jyoti Veeramoney - Board Member (Donor Relationship Chair)
Jyoti has lived in Portland for over 30 years. She has a BA in Speech & Communication from Portland State University. She is a professional chef and teaches cooking. Being a media enthusiast, she has hosted several cultural programs and is an active volunteer in the community.
Mahendra Shah - Board Member
Mahendra is a cofounder of Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon and Oregon Venture Advancement Inc. He serves on the board of Adventist Health Foundation and as a Treasurer of India Cultural Association.
Nagendra Tirumali - Board Member
Nagendra is a physician on the faculty of Knight Cancer Institute at OHSU and has enjoyed being a member of the Portland Indian community for over 38 years.
Geetanjali Krishna - Board Member
Geetanjali is a Senior Engineering Manager at Intel and a Oregon resident for 30yrs . With 30+ years of experience in the software industry, she is passionate about promoting STEM careers and mentoring the underrepresented. She is also a committee member for Women in Big Data and board advisor to a non profit supporting education in rural India.
Murali Veeramoney - Board Member
Murali has lived in the Portland area ever since he joined Intel Corp in Sept 1984. He has over 35 years of experience in the computer industry. He retired from Intel in Jan 2021, where he was Senior Director of System Innovation within the Intel Client Computing Group.